Lung cancer is the second most common cancer and the number one cause of cancer death. Although there has always been a higher incidence in men, the incidence in women has risen rapidly in recent years. In fact, lung cancer has now surpassed breast cancer as the number-one cancer killer of women. It has long been the number-one cancer killer of men.
An estimated 172,000 people will develop lung cancer in the U.S. in 1994, and about 153,000 people will die of it. This is especially unfortunate because it is one of the most preventable cancers. The cause is well known. Before tobacco use became popular, lung cancer was a rare disease. Furthermore, it has been estimated that if all tobacco were removed from the earth, the number of all cancers would fall by 17 percent.
There are two general types of lung cancer—small cell and non-small cell. The non-small cell variety is much more common, accounting for 75 percent of all lung cancer cases. Although some of these tumors can be cured by surgery, the overall five-year survival for people with this kind of cancer is only 10 percent. There has been no improvement in the survival rate in decades, which is a reflection of both the lack of a satisfactory screening test that could detect it in the early stages and, up to the present time, the lack of truly effective treatment with clear survival benefits.
